Kenora will need more land for residential development to meet the projected demand.
The city is going through the Official Plan review.
Nadia De Santi is one of the people working on the Official Plan and says they contracted a company called Metro Economics to provide a 25-year estimate of the population in Kenora.
“It is projected that the population would increase by almost 3,400 persons to 2051,” De Santi told city council during a review of the Official Plan.
“So, 2051 is our 25-year planning horizon. With that population increase there is an anticipated increase of approximately 1,800 new dwelling units.
The report by Metro Economics also suggested an increase of 1,863 jobs in 25 years.
Di Santi says they conducted the study as part of the city’s Official Plan review, and it shows there are some shortcomings.
“We worked with city staff, and it was identified that there was not a sufficient amount of supply of land to accommodate both the residential and the employment growth.”
As part of the Official Plan review, the city is looking at areas than can be added to the proposed developed land list to enable more housing.
More information on the Metro Economics report can be found here
